I asked for help.[ Isaiah 41 v 10 ]

I asked for help today from two people, and both said no,it was a bit sad, but it happens, I like the words of the Lord in Hebrews 13v6 ,/So that we may boldly say,The Lord is my helper/.These words have an expression of confidence ,we may boldly say, I am afraid I cannot say this as regards those two people today.If we need help we may think of a friend, or even ones family,and consider going to them for help, and we hope that may help us, but then again they may not, they may be just unwilling, or they may not have the resources to help. But when we go to our Lord we can be confident that He will help,no uncertainy. Let us stop and consider those words , and all that they mean, The Lord is my helper, the Lord, He the Lord has all the neccessary resources to help ,financial help, physical help, whatever help we need, He is able to help. There is no reluctance on His part to help us , consider the wonderful words in Romans 8 v 32, /He that spared not His own Son, but delivered him up for us all ,how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things/.
A prayer..../ Dear Lord we have so many ongoing needs,some small,some large,some complicated, so we look to You , with confidence to meet our needs, in Jesus name Amen./

Go to all. [ Matthew 28 v 19 - 26 ]

I did something today, that I have not done for years , I travelled on our local transport , and suddenly I was mixing with mothers with their children, elderly people, school children, and others. It made me realise how little contact I have with the general public,I spend a lot of time in my car, although I am often visit supermarkets , yet my ride on the bus mybe is a reminder of how it is so easy to become isolated from people. As we read the gospels we see one who left Heaven, and came to this earth, not into a palace, where He would have been secluded from the ordinary people, and would have been dressed in the best, and eat the best. No, Jesus was born into humble circumstances ,and He would mix with the poorest of people, and indeed the worst of people, and would enrich them, and make them the best of people.Jesus said follow me,as He left heaven and mixed with people,so the challenge comes to His followers to follow His example.
A prayer..../ Dear Lord Jesus help us to follow Your example to go to all with Your love, and Your Gospel. Amen /

Its impossible. [ Titus 1 v2 ]

My mother would often say ,you cannot trust a liar,it is amazing how some people can tell a bare faced lie, and never bat an eyelid. Hitler fooled the British Prime minister Neville Chamberlain, into believing that he wanted peace ,when all the time he was planning for war. In Romans 1 v 25 we read of those who changed the truth of God into a lie,so many people have been guilty of this ,the cults, false religions,in Romans it is said of those who worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator. The devil is seen both as a murderer and the father of lies , in other words he is the one were lies originate from, all men are not liars, but none tell the truth all the time. Someone told me something recently ,and after I had left him, I thought ,did he tell me the truth?. Now let us turn our thoughts away from sinful weak humanity, to God,and ask the question, do you know what it is impossible for God to do?. This is what we read in Titus 1 v 2, God cannot lie, what that means is ,He is completly trustworthy,what He says He will do. I rest my soul in the truth that God cannot lie,when His word tells me that if I believe in Jesus I shall be saved[ Acts 16v31],when I read that Jesus said He will return again [John 14 v s ], I believe Him,and when He says He will never leave me nor forsake me, I believe Him,why? because it is impossible for God to lie.
A prayer..../ Dear God we thank You for the truth that You cannot lie ,that You always keep Your word, help us to be like You, in Jesus name. Amen ]

Repent .[ Luke 13 v1- 5 ]

I was listening to a discussion on the radio,the subject was the energy suppliers in the U K, and how they were being unfair to the consumers. The person leading the discussion wanted to bring the discussion to a close , so he asked one person to sum up briefly, what the energy companies should do, the man replied,/ Repent/. I am sure he may have a point, many of these big companies have not always acted in a very ethical way, especially in developing countries. I personally try to avoid buying petrol from a particular brand because of that companies bad practices. Repent, it is a biblical term , and means expressing sorrow, but also involves a change of mind,it is important in relation to being saved[ Acts 20 v21 ], I would say that it is ongoing in the Christian life.[2 Corinthians 7 v9 ]. In Luke 13 the subject arose as to why certain people had died violent deaths ,the general belief was, that these people had suffered because of their sinfulness, but our Saviour told them to stop judging others ,and to realise their own need for repentance,and if they didnt they would perish, and He was not just talking about them dying , for after death the judgment [ Hebrews 9 v27 ].
A prayer..../ /Dear God have mercy upon those dear people who are being exploited by others, grant that a true spirit of repentance may come upon their exploiters, but also grant that we may all may see the need of repentance,in Jesus name .Amen ]

Halloween. [ 2 Corinthians 10 v 3 - 5 ]

One translation of the Bible tells us to not let the world squeeze us into its mould, if we are Christians, ambassadors for Christ ,then we must reflect the kingdom of God, at all times. Now I write this, because we are at that time of the year called Halloween, personally I dont have strong veiws on this occasion , it appears to me it has no real significance, but let me tell you something that has me think. My oldest son was staying with us last night,and we got talking about Halloween, he at this time is living with his daughter, they have two dogs, they sleep in the kitchen.Well like many people my granddaugther bought a pumpkin did the usual thing with it, then placed the pumpkin on the window leadge. During the night the household was wakened by the dogs howling like wolves, something they have never did before. When they took the pumpkin out of the room ,the dogs stopped howling, this really happened, now I am not telling you this to scare you, nor for any of us to overreact ,it has made me think. Wizards and witches to most people, are funny make believe creatures, but in Africa the witch doctor is a sinister force, and those involed in witchcraft in this country seek to connect with a world that is opposed to Gods kingdom.
A prayer..../Dear God help us to not just to accept all that our culture presents to us, gave us grace and wisdom in all things, in Jesus name Amen./

Families.[ Hebrews 13 v 4 ]

We decided to go that famous store Ikea ,it sells mainly furniture, it is Swedish, it is very popular especially the resturant,if you go between 9.30 and 11.30 during the week,you can have a breakfast for 99 pence,which includes a drink. I have a confession to make I treated myself to a croissant and a coffee which I really enjoyed, as I sat eating my breakfast, I thought ,if I wanted to have a quite breakfast I wouldnt go to Ikea , the store has a emphasis on families. It is nice to see people together as a family, anything that promotes family life can only be good,there is so much that works ill for families,throughout the world,in many countries it is poverty, violence,unfaithfulness,the list goes on, today let us pray for families.
A prayer..../ Dear God have mercy upon the families of our world,our country,our town, our street, in Jesus name. Amen /

Yes we can . [ Philippians 4 v 13 ]

Let me pick out a verse from my daily Bible reading , 2 Timothy 2 v 1,this letter was written by Paul to this young man who overseeing the church at Ephesus, so Paul wrote to him, to instruct, encourage, and to challenge him. Verse one declares,/Thou therefore my son, be strong, / I remember a person replied when she was told to pull her self together, I am not a pair of curtains. It is easy to say to someone stop that habit,stop those recurring angry outbursts, stop those lustful thoughts, etc. What they may reply ,I cannnot do it, I have tried, and tried, and have failed, have we not all been there,that sin that so easily besets us,and beats us time and time again. Well of course Paul did not just say ,/Thou therefore my son, be strong,/ he goes on to say,/ in the grace that is in Christ Jesus/, now that puts a whole different emphasis on what Paul was saying. We cannot pull ourselves together in our own strength,but we can, by the grace that is in Christ Jesus,through that grace we can beat , the devil , the flesh, and the world.
A prayer.../ Father grant us the grace we need, in our service for You,in the temptations we meet, and the tasks we have to perform, in Jesus name Amen ./